Most electronic devices in the modern day home are equipped with some form of wireless remote control device. Present day wireless devices include televisions, stereo equipment, video equipment such as DVD players, Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), and Video Cassette Recorders (VCRs), cable television adapters, satellite television adapters, and the like. Given the prevalence of relatively inexpensive network interfaces, the number of devices equipped with wireless controls will only increase into the future. The future may hold wireless controlled household furnishings and appliances such as lamps, washers, dryers, dishwashers, ventilation fans, and the like.
Since each remotely controlled appliance is usually supplied with one or more remote controllers, even a small household can accumulate a considerable number of remote controllers. The remote controllers are often great in number and similar in appearance. Frequently, the remote controllers are scattered about, hidden between sofa cushions, buried in the pet's bed, or lodged in an inaccessible location which is usually replete with a substantial accumulation of lint. While multifunction remote controllers may reduce the sheer number of controllers, most so called “universal” wireless remote controllers can handle only a limited number of devices, usually between 3 and 10. Given the potential growth in remote controlled appliances, it seems only a matter of time until a household will have a plethora of 10-in-1 controllers scattered where individual TV, DVD, and cable box remote controllers once roamed.
Universal remote control devices also have the drawback of requiring the user to “program” the controller. Generally, this “programming” occurs in one of two ways. The first way is to simply take the universal remote, place it in “learn” mode and shoot the dedicated remote controller at the universal remote while it is in “learn” mode. Such programming is tedious, time-consuming, and requires considerable interaction between the user, the universal remote, and the dedicated remote controller. The second way is for the user to enter a manufacturer's “code” into the universal remote controller. Unfortunately, many off-brand appliances may not have codes, some newly arrived appliance brands may not have had codes at the time the universal remote database was flashed by the manufacturer, or “manufacturer A” on the faceplate of the wireless appliance actually tolled the production of the appliance through “manufacturer B.” Other than frustration on the part of the consumer, the most frequently observed result in such instances is a television where the up volume, down channel, and channel buttons 3, 5, and 8 operate as intended, while every other button either does nothing or something totally unexpected.
There is a need, therefore, for a remote controller capable of accommodating a large number of wireless appliances, yet having a simple programming interface featuring an open architecture independent of one or more static databases of appliance control data flashed into the remote controller memory at the time of manufacture.